Who are your heroes?

[revree]

Mine are Mae Brussell, Paul Wellstone, Jimmy Carter and Dora the Explorer.

If you could emulate one activist or politician or writer or great thinker, who would it be? After seeing the Wellstone panel at convention, I think I'd choose Paul.

[Birthmark]

1. Almost every firefighter.

I wish I had the temperament.

[Toots]

50. Yes I agree with you....they are true American Heros

Politicians talk a good talk but these guys actually put their lives on the line and many are just volunteers.

[revree]

2. OH, yes!

And filmmakers who dare to tell the truth. And police who put themselves in the line of fire. AND TEACHERS!

And us parents, who strive to teach our children well.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

3. I'm a musician so

my heroes are Django Reinhardt, Woody Guthrie, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Jethro Burns, John Lennon, Bob Marley...

[Spiffarino]

59. You must be a mandolin picker, too

On edit: Dammit! Didn't want to post my picture...just the %!@#* link. Oy.

[NJCher]

4. Granny D and Michael Moore

The highest form of life.


Cher

[billybob537]

5. Do you know this man?

[Fenris]

14. DUDE that rocks!

MAX IS AWESOME!

[fujiyama]

58. Cool pic

Where was it taken?

[billybob537]

63. Yes Max ROCKS

It was taken out the window of the PANTS ON FIRE mobile tues. night in boston, thats me in the foreground. I got to shake his hand. He's giving us the thumbs up for the POF mobile. We had a greeaaaaat time driving around Boston during the Convention!

[Spiffarino]

60. MMMMAAAAXXXXXX!!!!!!

You trumped us. Max rocks.

[AlCzervik]

6. My Grandfather

He was just an awesome wonderful man, he passed about 6 months ago, a total confirmed liberal. My high school biology teacher, he also passed about a year ago, he was a vietnam veteteran that lost both legs there, a great person and a wonderful teacher. Also my 86 year old F911 seeing Nana, she's just literally the best person i've ever known , she reminds me of Flora, Fauna and Merriwether from Sleeping Beauty.

[chieftain]

7. RFK & MLK

[LWolf]

8. The nameless.

There are a host of true heroes that don't fall into your categories of activist, politician, writer, or great thinker. Not that they aren't/werent' any of those things, but that's not what they are known for.

They are the people who are steadfast in integrity, wisdom, courage, compassion, kindness, and care for others without any notice from the world around them. Those who quietly give more than they take without reward or notice. You can't list them, because you don't know their names. Those are the heroes I would like to emulate.

[onecitizen]

9. H-O-W-A-R-D D-E-A-N...........

and Paul Wellstone. I still miss him so much.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Leo Tolstoy, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Krzysztof Kiezlowski

Tolstoy for the finest novel ever written "War and Peace"
Gandhi for inspiring non-violent revolution.
Nelson Mandela for sheer courage and dignity.
Kieslowski for "Dekalog" the greatest film(s) ever made.
Pablo Picasso for joyful genius.
Joe Slovo for fighting the good fight.
Karl Marx for getting history right.
Abraham Lincoln for showing being what a president should be.
Margaret Sanger for freeing women.
Martin Luther King who, if anyone, should be on Mt. Rushmore
Joseph Heller for "Catch-22"

And, many, many, more whose mocassins are way too big for my feet.

[dennis4868]

11. Mine are....

Hamilton, JFK, Martin Luther King, and Lou Gehrig....

[skygazer]

12. The original activists

Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, my ancestor Oliver Wolcott and all the others who signed the Declaration of Independence. Those crazy maniacs who threw a boatload of tea into Boston Harbor. George Washington, who made the Presidency a reality.

And more recently my fellow Vermonter, Howard Dean, who rocked the political ship and forced people to hear the truth.

[Fenris]

13. James Madison, Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Franklin Roosevelt

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. Amy Goodman

I could list many others but I think Ms. Goodman has a lot of merit for her tireless advocacy of progressive issues and free speech, year-after-year, on her award-winning radio show "Democracy Now". The lady has real guts and digs into issues almost no other reporter in America will touch, including the child rape allegations at Abu Ghraib, the alleged massacre of hundreds of prisoners in US custody in the Afghanistan "Convoy Of Death", and the alleged involvement of the US government in ousting Haitian President Aristide, just to name a few.

[Cybergata]

16. Both My Parents

:hippie:

My parents are no longer with me, but they were both teachers who put a lot of their souls into their work. They inspired many young people. I have lived my life by their example.

All fire fighters both those in cities and those who fight forest fires.

John Lennon and Jerry Garcia

Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordon, Martin Luther King, Reyes Lopez Tijerina and Cesar Chavez.

Volunteers for animal rescue

Volunteers at homeless & battered women shelters

[indigobusiness]

17. Albert Camus

Albert Camus, (1913-60)


Life in Algeria
Although born in extreme poverty, Camus attended the lycee and university in Algiers, where he developed an abiding interest in sports and the theater. His university career was cut short by a severe attack of tuberculosis, an illness from which he suffered periodically throughout his life. The themes of poverty, sport, and the horror of human mortality all figure prominently in his volumes of so-called Algerian essays: L'Envers et l'endroit (The Wrong Side and the Right Side, 1937), Noces (Nuptials, 1938), and L'Ete (Summer, 1954). In 1938 he became a journalist with Alger-Republicain, an anticolonialist newspaper. While working for this daily he wrote detailed reports on the condition of poor Arabs in the Kabyles region. These reports were later published in abridged form in Actuelles III (1958).



The War Years
Such journalistic experience proved invaluable when Camus went to France during World War II. There he worked for the Combat resistance network and undertook the editorship of the Parisian daily Combat, which first appeared clandestinely in 1943. His editorials, both before and after the liberation, showed a deep desire to combine political action with strict adherence to moral principles.

During the war Camus published the main works associated with his doctrine of the absurd--his view that human life is rendered ultimately meaningless by the fact of death and that the individual cannot make rational sense of his experience. These works include the novel The Stranger (1942; Eng. trans., 1946), perhaps his finest work of fiction, which memorably embodies the 20th-century theme of the alienated stranger or outsider; a long essay on the absurd, The Myth of Sysiphysus (1942; Eng. trans., 1955); and two plays published in 1944, Cross Purpose (Eng. trans., 1948) and Caligula (Eng. trans., 1948). In these works Camus explored contemporary nihilism with considerable sympathy, but his own attitude toward the "absurd" remained ambivalent. In theory, philosophical absurdism logically entails total moral indifference. Camus found, however, that neither his own temperament nor his experiences in occupied France allowed him to be satisfied with such total moral neutrality. The growth of his ideas on moral responsibility is partly sketched in the four Letters to a German Friend (1945) included, with a number of other political essays, in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death (1960).



Rebellion
From this point on, Camus was concerned mainly with exploring avenues of rebellion against the absurd as he strove to create something like a humane stoicism. The Plague (1947; Eng. trans., 1948) is a symbolic novel in which the important achievement of those who fight bubonic plague in Oran lies not in the little success they have but in their assertion of human dignity and endurance. In the controversial essay The Rebel (1951; Eng. trans., 1954), he criticized what he regarded as the deceptive doctrines of "absolutist" philosophies--the vertical (eternal) transcendence of Christianity and the horizontal (historical) transcendence of Marxism. He argued in favor of Mediterranean humanism, advocating nature and moderation rather than historicism and violence. He subsequently became involved in a bitter controversy with Jean Paul Sartre over the issues raised in this essay.

Camus wrote two overtly political plays, the satirical State of Siege (1948; Eng. trans., 1958) and The Just Assassins (1950; Eng. trans., 1958). It can be argued, however, that Camus scored his major theatrical success with stage adaptations of such novels as William Faulkner's Requiem for a Nun (1956) and Dostoyevsky's The Possessed (1959). He also published a third novel, The Fall (1956; Eng. trans., 1957), which some critics read as a flirtation with Christian ideas, and a collection of short stories noteworthy for their technical virtuosity, Exile and the Kingdom (1957; Eng. trans., 1958). Posthumous publications include two sets of Notebooks covering the period 1935-51, an early novel, A Happy Death (1971; Eng. trans., 1972), and a collection of essays, Youthful Writings (1973; Eng. trans., 1976 and 1977)

John Cruickshank

http://us.f1f.yahoofs.com/bc/2af4196a/bc/My+Photo+Album/camusa.jpg?bfeSEDBBvmgLyfL_

http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/00/pwillen1/lit/indexa.htm

[flamingyouth]

18. My parents

They're amazing people, and at this point, I can say that they're not only generous and understanding parents, but good friends of mine as well.:loveya:

[LiberalTechie1337]

19. Wellstone and Dean

[Zynx]

20. There are a bunch.

My parents, Russ Feingold, FDR, Harry Truman, Eisenhower(even though he was a Republican), Aung San Suu Kyi(Burma), Paul Wellstone, and I could go on and on, but many have already been mentioned.

[G_j]

21. MLK Kucinich Starhawk

first three off the top of my head

[DaveSZ]

22. My hero :)

I get tears in my eyes when I listen to his old speeches.

[G_j]

24. Riverside Church Speech , tears my heart out

just as relevant today

[ItsThePeopleStupid]

23. Barbara Jordan first comes to mind

"Earlier today we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, We the people. It is a very eloquent beginning. But when that document was completed, on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that We, the people. I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision I have finally been included in We, the people.
"Today I am an inquisitor. I believe hyperbole would not be fictional and would not overstate the solemness that I feel right now. My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution."
http://www.elf.net/bjordan/
She made me believe.

[Kazak]

25. KV...

bless 'em.

[nolajazz]

26. Howard Dean and Paul Krugman.

[Curious Dave]

27. Michael Moore

Tim Robbins
Ben Affleck
Jeanine Garofalo
Randi
Al Franken
Alec Baldwin
Laurie David
Martin Sheen
Susan Sarandon
Barbara Streisand
Linda Ronstadt
Whoopi Goldberg

To name a few. Every one of these brave Americans risked it all to tell the truth. If our country someone survives bush it will be in no small part because of the sacrifices these great Americans made.

[lpbk2713]

28. Dedicated professional educators.

We pay them a fraction of what they are worth and yet they keep on doing it. What would we do without them? I owe a lot to so many good teachers in my life.

[genius]

29. Paul Wellstone, Arianna Huffington, Thomas Jefferson and Michael Moore

Dennis, too of course. Also George Orwell, John Dean, Rosa Parks, John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, etc.

[The Blue Knight]

30. Dennis Kucinich / FDR / Paul Wellstone / RFK

[JohnKleeb]

31. well those 4 that you name

but also

I really admire Kerry a lot as well, but I am gonna name a non political hero now who just happens to be my distant relative and a major character in me and John Kerry's favorite book.
Sgt Mike Strank was one of the six flag raisers on Iwo Jima and one of three never to see American soil again, he was a great hero, and knowing what I know about Kerry's values, I would say that my hero Sgt Mike and him shared values. A host of many, many others also are on my list too.

[Elwood P Dowd]

32. George W. Bush

I think he and his gang will personally do more damage to the republican party than all the Democrats combined! Keep it up George. Is yo chillen'
learning?

[mandyky]

33. Top 10 list

Howard Dean
Ann Richards
Michael Moore
Abigail Adams
Harriet Tubman
Sacagewea
Martin Luther King
Ghandi
Elanor Roosevelt
Daniel Ellsburg

Runners up

John Dean
Al Franken
Alexander Hamilton
Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
Maxine Water
Sheila Jackson Lee
Corrine Brown
Margaret Fox (original Quakers)

[Tight_rope]

34. Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr.,& Princess Diana,

Although 2 of my heroes are no longer with us in physically body, their legacies will forever live on.

[AlFrankenFan]

35. Paul Wellstone

Ever since I was nine, which is to say 1999. I wish I had been able to see more of his political career, but alas I'm a youngin'. The way he spoke and the way he was literally for the people helped show me at a young age that not only were electoral politics worth it, but there is hope, and not all politicians are scumbags. I miss him dearly, and still to this day I cry when I try to read through "The Conscience of a Liberal". I still can't help but wonder if the world would be a better place if Paul and Shelia had lived.

I also consider Al Franken a hero of mine because along with Paul Wellstone, Franken's "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" got me into politics and helped me realized that I am a liberal.

[Skittles]

36. Rosa Parks

nt

[psychopomp]

37. Lenny Bruce

[enigmatic]

38. Hmmm...

Charles Bukowski, Bill Hicks, and Andre Thornton..

[DemWitch]

39. My Aunt and Uncle...

they are my parents... they took me in when they didn't have to when my real parents decided having a kid was to distracting from what they wanted to do. They taught me respect for family, friends and community. They taught me that money isn't the most important thing in life, but dignity and honor are. They taught me that God was in everything and everyone, not just in church on sundays, and could care less about obscure words written in a book. They taught me that it's ok to be angry and dissagree, but disrespect wouldn't be tolerated. They taught me to say I Love You only if you mean it and I Hate You should never be said. For all that and more, they are my main heroes.

[HEyHEY]

40. Foster Hewwit, Martin Luther King, my Dad, Bobby orr and Gahndi

[WindRavenX]

41. Lance Armstrong, Derek Jeter, Hillary and Bill Clinton, John Kerry

Lance and Derek are two inspirational athletes who do inspire me to work hard no matter what. The Clintons, especially Hillary, are pretty much beacons of light in this world, IMO. They show compassion and kindness. Same for Kerry. He's an intellectual and a very, very complex man who is misunderstood by people, IMO.

[Twenty3]

42. My Dad

Practiced medicine something like 30 yrs, surgeon. Yet never drove a fancy car, or wore fancy clothes, or did anything the stereotyped rich person does (including spoiling his kids, oh well).

He was never one to "give money" to charities and stop there. He did go to Africa many times (usually at his own expense), rounding up used eyeglasses & taking them there, teaching techniques to the doctors & nurses there, and all kinds of other stuff. He's 75 now and still busts his butt for Habitat for Humanity, when he could be enjoying a luxurious Doctor's Retirement. But he's doing what he wants to do, which is just so cool.

A Democrat and a Christian who (unlike a lot of Christians I've known) doesn't talk about it, he lives it.

He's also the wisest person I know. It took me till past 40 to realize if he's not always right, he's right most of the time!

My other hero -- in addition to many, many others already mentioned in this thread -- is Chuck Yeager :)

[Neoplatonist]

43. Bertrand Russell -- for freeing me from mysticism

Also, RFK, JFK, Mandella, Bill Clinton, Susan B. Anthony, Y. Rabin, FDR, T. Jefferson, & Hillary for being the first First Lady/senator in American history.

[slutticus]

44. Bertrand Russell...

...much props.....

[Kiliki]

45. Bobby Kennedy, Cesar Chavez, Jesus Christ, and Wes Clark. n/t

-

[neverborn]

46. HOWARD DEAN.

[LiberalPersona]

47. Heroes

Lincoln, Clinton, Dean

[schultzee]

48. Roberty Kennedy, Cynthia McKenny

[RummyTheDummy]

49. My top 11

11. Jimmy Carter -- How many presidents do you know that left office $1 million in DEBT?

10. JFK -- Bold and fearless.
9. George S. Patton -- Tommy Franks and Norman Swartzkopff couldn't carry his jock on their best day.

8. Paul Wellstone -- What can I say.

7. Max Cleland -- He's acheived martyr status in my book.

6. Thomas Jefferson/Ben Franklin/George Washington -- Turning over in their graves.

5. Winston Churchill -- A true bulldog. His resolve is unmatched.

4. Harry S. Truman -- A true common man.

3. William Jefferson Clinton -- My first ever vote in any election. Some flame him here, but he was my JFK.

2. MLK -- Oh how I wish I could have heard him speak in person. He was murdered three years before I was born. I feel robbed.

1. FDR -- Our greatest president IMHO. Led the nation through REAL crisis.

[Aidoneus]

51. Nikola Tesla most of all

some of the rest: (not at all a complete list, no particular order)

Jack Parsons
Aleister Crowley
Hannibal
Imam Husayn ibn Ali(RA)
Salahuddeen
Hasan al-Sabah
Jacques de Molay
Daghestani Imam Shamil
Mikhail Bakunin
Hugo Chavez
Aldous Huxley
Billy Corgan

For the one I'd emulate most, Tesla by far.

[vetwife]

52. Everyone on this board. It take courage to dissent !

[Spiffarino]

61. I second that emotion.

I appreciated the kind reception I got the first day I posted back in June. I stayed on because the average intelligence of this collective body is truly amazing and inspiring. I learn something new every time I read these forums.

DU: The Anti-Freep.

[never_get_over_it]

53. Mine are

All the suffragists especially Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul
Maxine Waters
Paul Wellstone
Dennis Kucinich
Maya Angelou
Ted Kennedy
Jimmy Carter
Congressional Black Caucus
Nina Braunwald - first woman heart surgeon
one of my high school math teachers

[JI7]

54. Tom Daschle

[zanana]

55. Single working mothers.

We see them every day--mostly working low-wage jobs. They have to go to work every morning, after getting their kids to school and day-care and smile at people all day at the checkout, taking your order at the diner, cleaning people's houses, etc. After at least eight hours of this, they go home to take care of their kids, clean and cook. They're the hardest working people in the world and they get little support from anyone. How they do it is beyond me; I just admire them so much.

[moof]

56. Octafish, Bev Harris and the crew that created DU

Thanks Skinner, EarlG, elad

and what ever people helped you to think it could be done.

[LeftishBrit]

57. Many...

Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Gandhi. Martin Luther King. The Suffragettes. And many many more - but I'd like to give a special mention to our local schoolchildren, who organized big demonstrations against the war in Iraq, while our supposedly Socialist government were rolling over and acting like poodles.

[Cats Against Frist]

64. Rousseau

Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, The suffragettes, Rosa Parks, Rachel Corrie, Joe Hill, Gandhi, Caesar Chavez, Joe Hill, MLK Jr., Olof Palme, Bertrand Russell, Marianne Moore, Emily Dickinson, Arnold Schönberg, Gilles Deluze, Laurence Stern, Bill Hicks, Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Frances Ford & Sofia Coppola, Phish, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull, Mattie Stepanek and Ryan White.

And tons of others, as an above poster mentioned, who go unnamed.

[blueblitzkrieg]

62. Zell Miller

just kidding